A Delhi University committee formed to probe the harassment incident at the all-women IP College has missed the deadline to submit its first report and is yet to meet the students who have been seeking action against the perpetrators. To recall, the committee was constituted on April 3 and was supposed to submit its first report within a week, as per a report by PTI.
Headed by Prakash Singh, the South Campus director, the committee since its constitution has only held one meeting. As per a university official, it will meet on Thursday to finalise the guidelines. The members of the committee are yet to hold meetings with or speak to students who have held a series of protests demanding action against the perpetrators and accountability on the part of the college. A university official confirmed no report has been submitted so far.
Giving more details, the official who is also a part of the committee said, "We held a meeting last week. We are holding the second meeting tomorrow. We have held talks with the principal (Poonam Kumria) warden, and the union advisor. We are preparing a set of guidelines to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future."
When PTI asked whether the report has been submitted or not? The official said, "No, we couldn't submit the report because there were too many holidays last week."
What happened at IP College?
The students have alleged that some men climbed the college campus boundary and harassed several women students during a cultural festival on March 28. Following their protests, the DU formed a committee to look into "the grievances raised by the students" and asked the panel to submit its report in a week.
Moreover, a student who was part of the protests in the college demanding the resignation of the principal said on Wednesday they have not been approached by anyone from the university. Speaking on this, a second-year student Shambhavi said, "Our college and principal have held the meetings. But the meetings are yet to be organised by the university officials. We are still waiting to hear from the officials."
The principal of the college did not respond to texts and calls from PTI seeking a response. Different student outfits held protests outside and inside IP College over the incident. They demanded that the college convene a general body meeting on the issue.
Who are the members of the committee formed?
Members of the committee are Proctor Rajni Abbi, Dean of Students Welfare Pankaj Arora, Joint Proctor Geeta Sahare and Professor, Department of Hindi, Manju Mukul Kumble.
DCW's report
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued interim recommendations to Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi police, and Delhi University regarding the sexual harassment incidents with the girls at IP College. Earlier, it launched an inquiry into the matter after an FIR was filed by the Delhi police on the date of the incident itself and the college forwarded 231 complaints and representations to the police on April 4.
In a statement released on Tuesday, April 11, it said, "In their interaction with the survivors, the Commission learned that four persons were injured, and a girl even sustained a fracture due to the incident. The Commission also found that similar crimes have occurred in other colleges in Delhi University, including Miranda House and Gargi College," as per a report by IANS.
"The Commission identified some glaring issues in the case, including the fact that the Delhi Police had not collected the CCTV footage of the incident till April 6, 2023. The Commission has asked the police to collect full CCTV footage of the incident and identify and arrest all perpetrators. The Commission recommended that statements of all the survivors should be recorded immediately," it added.
